tablica
| Inventory number: KB-391 |
| Material: wood, paper, metal |
| Dimensions: 36 x 36 cm |
| Dating: circa 1876 |
| Made by: Miroir Brot |
| Origin: France |
Tri-fold mirror. The mirrors on one side and fine Japanese paper on the other side are enclosed within a bamboo frame, as well as a simple flat wooden frame. Currently disassembled due to some missing parts.
The manufacturer is French, Miroir Brot (Mirrors Brot), dating back to around 1876. Miroir Brot is a Parisian company founded in 1826, specialising in mirror production. In 1875, they patented a revolutionary tri-fold mirror that became popular worldwide, and the KB-391 specimen is an example of that patent. This type of mirror always features the same depiction on Japanese paper.
Središnji sadržaj
The Japanese paper features a scene with two herons and two samurai with butterfly wings. In the right corner there is an inscription in ancient Japanese, which was specially written for this type of mirror. Most likely, the scribe is not Japanese, but rather a Frenchman imitating Japanese writing, which is why it is difficult to fully transcribe the inscription. What is readable are the parts:
大極上 supreme quality
化粧用 for cosmetic use
玻璃 type of glass therefore the term 玻璃鏡 refers to a mirror made of this type of glass
製造処 factory
In translation: The best factory of cosmetic mirrors made of ... type of glass. At the beginning of the inscription is the old kanji for Paris: 巴里 followed by the address 89: 八十九番地. The inscription also includes many characters written in katakana, which is characteristic of loanwords in the Japanese language, but deciphering them is more challenging.